Chindia Tower

The 27-metre stone watchtower at the heart of the Princely Court complex, built in the mid-15th century and rebuilt in stone after a fire. The name means "Watchtower of the Sundown" — chindie is the Romanian word for the late afternoon call to vespers.

A spiral staircase leads up through four levels of small museum displays to a viewing balcony at the top, with views over Târgoviște's red-tiled roofs to the Carpathians on a clear day. Tight stairs; not for the claustrophobic.

things to do sight architecture
A story
Vlad the Impaler used Chindia Tower as a watchtower and, according to local tradition, as a place from which to observe the impalements he ordered in the surrounding fields. A small museum in the lower levels tells the historical story behind the Dracula myth, with chronicles and engravings from Vlad's contemporaries — and a clear distinction between Vlad Țepeș the prince and Bram Stoker's vampire.